On Sun, 07 Dec 2003 03:49:12 +1100, bob parker wrote: > On Sat, 6 Dec 2003 09:12, Tom wrote: >> On Fri, Dec 05, 2003 at 04:32:47PM -0500, Paul Morgan wrote: >> > Good point. And just because Bill Gates et. al have become hard-nosed >> > businessmen, it does not mean they are immoral. >> >> Microsoft played the exact same role in its origins v. IBM as Linux is >> now playing to Microsoft; the upstart, force for freedom. The PC was a >> freedom revolution against the glass house. > > IBM invented the PC not Microsoft. IBM made the decision to have open > standards so that third parties could and did manufacture components and of > course the entire assembly itself. Microsoft did not even create MSDOS, they > bought it. Sure the PC was a force for freedom, but the credit goes to IBM, > all Microsoft have ever done is to constrain that freedom. > >> >> That's one of the things that makes me feel squirelly and uncomfortable >> about open source; you always have to consider "who gains by this and >> what's their motivation". Any philosophy which cannot account for basic >> facts must have foundational weaknesses. > > Like thinking that Microsoft created the PC for instance?
Thinking that IBM invented the personal computer is not much smarter than thinking that Microsoft did. Ever heard of the Altair? Or the Apple I and II, the TRS-80 or Commodore Pet? IBM did popularize the term "PC", but they sure as heck didn't invent the personal computer. And, because they'd bought the rights to the Intel 8086, and because of the sheer economic power and brand recognition of IBM, we all got stuck with the dreadful Intel segmented memory architecture. -- ....................paul "The number of UNIX installations has grown to 10, with more expected." (The UNIX Programmer's Manual, 2nd Edition, June 1972) -- To UNSUBSCRIBE, email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] with a subject of "unsubscribe". Trouble? Contact [EMAIL PROTECTED]
